When Things Happen
by MinuteCloser2Failing
Summary: "No, the dead bodies were not what made the scene before him so unbearable. It was the mess that those sick bastards had left behind for him and Rick to find."


A/N: Just something random... o_o Warning for mentions of rape and slight Daryl/Glenn... :P

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><p>The sky looked the same- a soft, carefree blue with wisps of clouds in a drifting lazily throughout. In that brief instance, through the hole of the broken down window before him, it was as if he was transported back to when things use to be a sort of messed-up normal. Yeah, there was chaos all around them, but at least it was the kind of chaos that was he felt he could deal with. It wasn't easy, but it was simple. It was just about surviving.<p>

Nothing more, nothing less.

Daryl took a deep, shaky breath, taking no notice of the throbbing that seemed as though the blood in his body was trying rush out his torn knuckles. Exhaling slowly, he looked back to the reality he was faced with with an emotionless expression; the trash and rubble, broken remnants of the past surrounded the ground beneath him. The worst thing wasn't the lifeless bodies littered before him, one of them with their face broken and unrecognizable, disfigured from the hard pounding of his fist against his face over and over and over- no faltering when he was begging for mercy, no stopping until long after he had taken his last, undeserving breath- the rest with bullet holes for eyes.

No, the dead bodies were not what made the scene before him so unbearable. It was the mess that those sick bastards had left behind for him and Rick to find.

Andrea.

Glenn.

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><p>Daryl would look back in his rearview mirror every once in a while, to make sure no one, or thing, was following them, but mostly to check to see that Andrea and Glenn were okay. As okay as they can be.<p>

The trip back to camp was long and silent. Neither had uttered a single word since they had found them in that room, the one that made them all realize what Daryl already knew, what Rick had never suspected- that the world had changed. Not in the obvious way. It wasn't the dead bodies lurking around every corner, desperately looking for their next meal of human flesh or the broken pieces of the world around them being laid out in every corner they happen to turn. It was the people that were still alive, the unknown survivors in this apocalyptic world of theirs. They can't be trusted. No outsiders can be trusted.

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><p>It had been a couple of days since the incident and things weren't getting any better. The camp was restless, each person keeping busy with mindless tasks, to keep the ruse that nothing happened for as long as they could- just to keep a bit of normalcy for just a little bit longer. Before they had to face the truth and do something about it.<p>

When they had first gotten back, both Andrea and Glenn bolted, leaving the group- the ones that were excited and ready to look through and sort the supplies they should have gotten with no problem- confused and worried, turning to Rick and Daryl with questions that neither of them wanted to answer.

Andrea had shut down, just like when her sister had been killed, only worse. Before, she at least interacted people, ate what little they had to give. Before, she still acted as though she wanted to live. No matter how much it hurt, she still wanted to live. But now... Andrea wouldn't leave her tent. Those who tried to talk to her- to urge her out of her tent, to please eat something because it had been way too long - were met with vicious snarls and jeers. _'Leave me alone!' _

Glenn was the opposite. As soon as he was able, as soon as the hand-shaped bruises and the rope burns and that god-awful telltale limp healed up, he ran around the camp doing whatever he could to help out. He would help Lori and Carol with laundry, he would volunteer for the late night watch that none of the liked to do but all of them wanted- needed- to be done. When anyone asked him if he was okay, he would smile that smile of his as wide as he could. _'Yeah, of course,'_he would say, with as much enthusiasm as he can muster but no one really believed him. He never once uttered the actual words that would indicate that he was 'okay.'

Glenn never was good at lying and even this couldn't change that.

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><p>Every time the kid flinched, every time he shied away from someone, every single time he saw him balled up behind some tree, head down against his arms, shaking as he tears silently slid down his face- it made Daryl wish he'd made those sons of bitches suffer more than they had.<p>

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><p>A week passed by since Daryl decided to take it upon himself to watch over the kid.<p>

Andrea had finally left her tent and Lori and Carol had taken on that supportive role and, even though it annoyed her to no end, Andrea needed it and she had it with those two.

But it was different with men. Rape,- Daryl glared at the ground, even the mere thought disgusted him- it was different with men. Men are supposed to be strong. They aren't allowed to get _raped_ because they were supposed to be able to defend themselves because of the mere fact that they were _men_. And since Glenn was a man- despite his slight frame and his young age and that innocent face that no longer lit up for no reason whatsoever- he didn't have the same luxury as Andrea had. He couldn't afford to cry like Andrea had in front of Lori and Carol when she had told them what happened, with Daryl getting a glimpse of the sobbing and tears as they held her and whispered soothing words as he had quickly passed by with the spoils of his latest hunt. He couldn't go up to one of them and talk about his feelings- how ashamed he felt and how much it hurt and how he felt useless in protecting Andrea- because it just didn't work like that. Especially not now, in this new world of theirs.

So Andrea was going to be just fine. She'll bounce back, even stronger than before because, unlike Glenn, she had people helping her. Unlike Glenn, she didn't have to hold in her emotions. Unlike Glenn, she didn't have to hide if she felt the need to cry. They didn't know what to do with a guy in that situation. Namely because, before this, none of them thought this was possible. Shane was slightly put off, unable to comprehend how Glenn could _let_that happen to him and, even worse, how he could let that happen to Andrea. Daryl would've knocked the bastard out if Lori hadn't spoken up, jabbing him in the chest and hissing things that stung in ways that only a women can do.

Rick did what Rick does, giving Glenn a few encouraging words, believing, with all his might, that it would work because, if it didn't work, than he would be just as lost as everyone else was amidst all this and Rick couldn't handle being unable to help people. He was a cop, through and through, and that's just who Rick is.

So Daryl watched over Glenn, never crowding him, never making him feel as though he was anything less than who he was before. No, Daryl just watched because he knew that, one day, Glenn won't be able to fake smile that fake smile of his, won't be able to keep up with the lies he forced through his teeth. One day, Glenn will be overwhelmed by it all and when he is, Daryl wanted to be sure someone was there to help him through it all. Because, Glenn will realize what he was doing was just not working, and Daryl wanted to make sure he didn't fall too hard when that day comes.

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><p>It's been a month or so- hell, who could tell anymore- since it happened. Andrea was back on her feet- just like Daryl knew she would be- and proud as ever. A bit more hardened, but it suited her just fine.<p>

Glenn was still healing though. Not physically- his body's been healed for a while now. He wasn't 100% okay. Daryl doubts Glenn could ever be the Glenn from before again. But Daryl knows, with all his heart, that Glenn will make it.

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><p><em> "Hey."<em>

_"…"_

_"…You alright?"_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"…Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright."_

No doubt in his mind about it. Glenn was going to be just fine.


End file.
